How Did George Wood's First African American Public School
First African-American Public School Principal in Boston Passes Away Photo Credit: Pinterest
Gladys Wood made history when she became Boston’s first African-American public school principal. She was a pioneer in the school administration and a math teacher at Dearborn Elementary in Roxbury. Although she was offered to transfer to a junior high school, she declined the opportunity and cited that she had too many things to fix first.
In Dearborn, some of the remedial teachers had to work in back rooms while other classes were taking place. To address the issue, Wood decided to clean out a basement area by herself to build an additional room. Due to the lack of facilities, the counselors of emotionally disturbed children met with their students in the school corridors.
According to Wood, the boy’s bathroom was …show more content…
She took steps and made decisions even when the school’s administrators failed to address the problems.
For instance, she supervised a couple of teachers who are having a hard time with their classes. One of the teachers expressed that he did not like teaching black students. Wood asked the school administration to dismiss the teacher but the school replied by saying there was no one to replace the teacher.
Wood had been a public school teacher for a couple of years when she received her master’s degree in education. In 1957, she became the vice principal and 9 years later was recognized as Boston’s first black principal. In Dearborn Elementary school, Wood presided over 1,500 students.
Later on, she also became the principal of Mattapan and Hyde Park schools. She also acted as the assistant director of the school’s teacher placement division. Wood was recognized by the National Conference of Christians and Jews for her service and was presented with the Frederick Douglass Achievement Award.
Wood recently passed away in August 3. She was 101 years old. Read the original story via Boston
Gladys Wood made history when she became Boston’s first African-American public school principal. She was a pioneer in the school administration and a math teacher at Dearborn Elementary in Roxbury. Although she was offered to transfer to a junior high school, she declined the opportunity and cited that she had too many things to fix first.
In Dearborn, some of the remedial teachers had to work in back rooms while other classes were taking place. To address the issue, Wood decided to clean out a basement area by herself to build an additional room. Due to the lack of facilities, the counselors of emotionally disturbed children met with their students in the school corridors.
According to Wood, the boy’s bathroom was …show more content…
She took steps and made decisions even when the school’s administrators failed to address the problems.
For instance, she supervised a couple of teachers who are having a hard time with their classes. One of the teachers expressed that he did not like teaching black students. Wood asked the school administration to dismiss the teacher but the school replied by saying there was no one to replace the teacher.
Wood had been a public school teacher for a couple of years when she received her master’s degree in education. In 1957, she became the vice principal and 9 years later was recognized as Boston’s first black principal. In Dearborn Elementary school, Wood presided over 1,500 students.
Later on, she also became the principal of Mattapan and Hyde Park schools. She also acted as the assistant director of the school’s teacher placement division. Wood was recognized by the National Conference of Christians and Jews for her service and was presented with the Frederick Douglass Achievement Award.
Wood recently passed away in August 3. She was 101 years old. Read the original story via Boston